NEWS

National Lab Day Adds Behavioral & Social Sciences

As reported in the April issue of PSA, the American Psychological Association has endorsed National Lab Day (NLD)—a program for matching up scientists and teachers to develop science projects for students in grades K-12—but was concerned that the behavioral and social sciences were not included among the fields explicitly mentioned in NLD materials. This situation has now been repaired. Following an April 7 meeting between representatives of five major scientific organizations and NLD organizers held at the headquarters of the National Science Teachers Association, a new category of Behavioral/Social Sciences was added to the NLD website as one of the major scientific fields by which participants can identify themselves.

In addition to APA, the organizations participating in the meeting were the Consortium of Social Science Associations, Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences, American Educational Research Association, and American Sociological Association.

This development not only ensures that NLD will encompass the full range of sciences, but also sets a precedent for inclusion of the behavioral and social sciences in future initiatives to enhance science and technology education. APA and its partners will continue to work to fully integrate the behavioral and social sciences into NLD activities and other science education efforts.